The Voyage of the ‘Why Not?’ in the Antarctic. The Journal of the Second French South Polar Expedition, 1908-1910

[1911]

Special Collections G850 1908 F8 CF29

London: Hodder and Stoughton

Doctor and explorer, Jean Charcot (1867-1936), first sailed into the Antarctic in 1903 aboard Français. After consulting with other polar explorers like Bruce and Shackleton, Charcot set off on his second voyage into the Antarctic on the Pourquoi-pas? in 1908. Aboard ship were 30 men, 250 tons of coal, various pieces of scientific apparatus, provisions for three years, a dozen sledges, and several pairs of skis. Boat and crew wintered over on the SE coast of Petermann Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. Despite ‘violent and continual attacks of Antarctic tempests’ they carried out scientific observations and collected data. Despite experiencing some sickness, all survived and returned to France in June 1910.